I haven't even moved into my first bungalow yet, and I'm so excited. The current owners have no idea when the house was built. It's in Lockport, IL. We're assuming that it is 1910-1920. My question concerns the windows in the closets. Do they help date the house? And is this a common feature in bungalows? I would appreciate it if anyone could elaborate on the closet windows. <br>

My 1922 bungalow has narrow, tall windows in both bedroom closets. These were for ventilation in the closet, and also for light, since neither closet is wired for a light fixture. Lighting fixtures and outlets were installed very sparingly in those days. <br> <br>

Bonnie - A few months ago I moved into a Chicago Bungalow on the city's South Side. Due to where your bungalow is, I assume yours is possibly similar to mine. Although I also am unsure of the exact age of my home, I have been told it was built sometime in the 20's. I have four closets in my three bedrooms. Two in the "master bedroom" and one in each of the other two bedrooms. The closet on exterior wall in the master bedroom has a small window that swings inward with side hinges, and is connected to the "interior" master bedroom closet with an open pass-through that starts about 6 feet up and continues to the ceiling. The closets in the other two bedrooms are linked with a similar pass-through and the bedroom with the closet on the exterior wall of the house has the same small window. I was told the windows were for airflow, and that the pass-through allowed airflow to the interior closets. Hope that helps. Sorry I can't help date your house.

My 1920 has small windows in downstairs BR closets. <br> <br>

My 1908 bungalow had 3 closets (had being the operative term here), each of which had a small window. One in each of the two bedrooms, and one in what I had thought was as breakfast room. At some point, someone wanted suburban-style closets that run the width of the room, so in the bedroom behind the living room (chimney in the center of the house), they cut open the wall to create a large proscenium, and refinished the area around the chimney. They closed up the window to put in a large clothes-hanging rod through the space. <br> <br>In the back bedroom, which is next to the smaller breakfast room (which has a slanting wall adjoining the kitchen and a lintel over the walled-up space where I assume once were french doors into the kitchen), the back was divided evenly between a closet for that bedroom (against the outside wall of the house) and a closet for the breakfast room. The wall was cut open again to make a proscenium, the dividing wall between the closets was torn out, the floor spaces were the walls had been was filled in with plaster of some sort, and a big double-closet was created with extra cheap insta-closet crap. The two windows, opening into the back yard, were boarded up to accomodate clothes racks since they open inward. <br> <br>The breakfast room, which was turned into a living room, had a mini-closet built out of drywall in the closet space. It was all very weird and ugly and one of the first things to go. But now I really love the light and air from having the two back windows in the bedroom, so I probably will not restore the closets. I'll just buy a wardrobe or two to store clothes in, if I can find a nice one that hasn't been converted into an entertainment center. <br> <br>However, there never were any other closets (like a coat closet or pantry) in the house. <br> <br>

I did a lot of househunting up here in Portland, Oregon, and have seen quite a few 1920's bungalows with little windows in the small bedroom closets. The house I purchased, built in 1923, is a very tiny bungalow with single light bulbs in the two bedroom closets instead of windows. <br> <br>

How big a window is it? <br> <br>Small windows were often put in closets to allow clothes to be aired out while they were stored. <br> <br> <br> <br>

Bonnie: Our house was built in 1916, and two of the larger bedrooms upstairs have 7' X 17' walk in closets. One has a leaded glass window, and the other has a stained glass window in a Frank Lloyd Wright design. Out house is in original condition except for some renovating we've done. Hope this helps your research. <br> <br>

Here's my findings: After house hunting for over a year, I have learned that, at least in north NJ, houses before 1930 rarely had real closets. Our 1901 bungalow has walk-in closets, two with windows in them. <br> <br> <br>

I agree -- we have uncovered 5 windows on <br>interior walls now. Our 1904 house has no <br>original closets. I expect if a closet exists, it <br>was built after construction and the window <br>was just left. <br> <br> <br> <br>

My 1926 bungalow has lots of closets, all original as evidenced by the fact that they have solid wood craftsman doors and trim that match the other doors and woodwork in the house. There is a hall closet, one downstairs bedroom/den has a double-door walkin closet, another bedroom has a smaller closet with a beautiful antique beveled mirror set into the door, the upstairs master bedroom also has a walkin closet, again with a matching solid door. It also has a walled-in window that has been covered up inside the closet , but is still intact exterior. I did not notice this until several weeks after I bought the house. I haven't figured this out yet.